Invention of Automobiles (Post World War II), Session 4 , Level 1

 Session 4: Invention of Automobiles (Post World War II) 

  Post World War II, the automotive industry showed rapid modernization in the 1950s and 1960s. Many new car models were introduced like Edsel, Chevrolet, etc. In the U.S., road network was built after the World War II. 

    This road network was quite modern with long highways stretching across the length and breadth of the country. It is noteworthy that U.S. has a large landmass and vast geography, which allows open and wide roads to be built. 

    On these roads models like the Beetle do appear very tiny! The Big Three of the car industry, namely General Motors, Ford and Chrysler set about to design big fast‑moving cars for the American roads. Edsel, Buick, Pontiac Firebird, Chevrolet Impala, etc., were some of the big cars that came on             American highways in the 1950s and 1960s.It may also be noted that these models used large amounts of petrol or gasoline as it is called in the U.S. But, petrol consumption was not a grave concern in those days. So, each car maker competed with the others in making bigger and better designs with more luxuries added for comfort. All this made owning and maintaining a car quite costly. However, more and more Americans bought these models. 

    One very popular model from Ford was named ‘Mustang’. However, things changed after 1973. This was the year of the first ‘Oil Crisis’. Petrol started becoming costlier as all the Arab nations got together in an alliance. Now, suddenly even Americans started looking for more economical designs. Meanwhile, quietly but with determination, Japan was developing cars for marketing worldwide, mainly in the U.S. Actually, after the devastation of their country during World War II, several Japanese companies came into existence like Toyota, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, etc. Some of these like Mazda,     Were using American technology. But these companies were also developing their own research capabilities. As a result, when the 1973 oil crisis occurred, these companies were very well positioned to roll out smaller, compact, economical models in the U.S. Since then, companies like Toyota, Honda have been steadily increasing their market presence worldwide. There are some technical and design aspects that differentiate modern cars from antiques. The modern era has been one of increasing standardization, platform sharing and computer-aided design. 

(i) Toyota Corolla (1966–present)—a simple small Japanese saloon/sedan that has come to be the best-selling car of all time. 

(ii) Range Rover (1970–present)—the first take on the combination of luxury and four-wheeled drive utility, the original ‘SUV’. Such was the popularity of the original Range Rover Classic that a new model was not brought out until 1994. 

 (iii) Mercedes-Benz S-Class (1973–present)—features like electronic anti-lock braking system, supplemental restraint airbags, seat belt pretensioners and electronic traction control systems made their debut in the S-Class. These features later became standard throughout the car industry. 

 (iv) BMW 3 Series (1975–present)—the 3 Series has been on the Car and Driver magazine’s annual Ten Best list 17 times, making it the longest running entry in the list. 

 (v) Honda Accord (1977–present)—this Japanese sedan became the most popular car in the U.S. in the 1990s, pushing the Ford Taurus aside, and setting the stage for today’s upscale Asian sedans. 

 (vi) Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant (1981–89)— the ‘K-cars’ that saved Chrysler as a major manufacturer. These models were some of the first successful American front-wheel drive, fuelefficient compact cars. 

 (vii) Chrysler minivans (1983–present)—the twobox minivan design nearly pushed the station wagon out of the market, and presaged today’s crossover SUVs.

(viii) Renault Espace (1984–present)—first mass one‑volume car of non-commercial MPV class.

 (ix) Ford Taurus (1986–present)—this mid-sized front-wheel drive sedan with modern computerassisted design dominated the American market in the late 1980s, and created a design revolution in North America. 

(x) Pontiac Trans Sport (1989–99)—it was one of the first one-box cars. 

 (xi) Toyota Prius (1997–present)—launched in the Japanese market, it reached a worldwide cumulative sales of 2 million units in September 2010, becoming the most iconic hybrid electric vehicle in the world. 

 (xii) Ford Focus (1998–present)—one of the most popular hatchbacks across the globe, which is also one of Ford’s best-selling world cars.

 (xiii) Tata Nano (2008‑present)—it is an inexpensive (`1,00,000), rear-engine, four‑passenger city car built by an Indian company, Tata Motors, and is aimed primarily at the Indian domestic market. 

 (xiv) Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt (2010–present)—all these electric cars were launched in the American and Japanese markets in December 2010, thereby becoming the first mass production vehicles of their kind. 

 Indian Automobile Scenario 

    The automotive industry in India started with the import of cars for royal families, which perhaps started in 1920s. For many years, India did not have any manufacturing capability of its own. 

    Hindustan Motors is one of the initial car manufacturers in India, founded in 1942 by B.M. Birla. It was a leader in car sales until the 1980s, when the industry was opened up from protection. Hindustan Motors was the producer of the Ambassador car  widely used as a taxicab and as a government limousine. This car was based on the Morris Oxford, a British car that dates back to 1954. The production of Ambassador stopped in 2014.

    Another Indian company, Premier Automobiles was founded in 1944. The company first launched production of vehicles under licence from Dodge and Plymouth. In 1951, they began producing versions of Fiat 500 for the Indian market. This was followed by Fiat 1100 in 1954. In 1973, Premier renamed the Fiat 1100 as the ‘Premier Padmini’. Ambassador and Fiat/Padmini were the two dominant models of cars on the Indian roads till 1983.

     In 1983, the Government of India started Maruti Udyog in collaboration with Suzuki of Japan. Maruti’s first model called Maruti 800  became a huge success. Within 5–6 years the company reached an annual production of nearly 1,00,000 cars. They launched various models like 800, Gypsy, Omni van, Esteem, Zen, Baleno, etc. By the end of 1990s, several other global multinational car makers also started manufacturing their models in India. Among them were General Motors, Ford, Hyundai, etc. In just a few years the Indian market for cars became a hotspot of global automotive activity. As we see, the Indian auto industry started with the import of cars in the 1920s, followed by manufacturing in1940s. With continued progress many Indian companies like Maruti, Tata, Mahindra have become big global names. They are not merely manufacturing European/ American or Japanese designs, but are doing so with their own research and development capabilities. As a result of this, Nano model was developed by Tata Motors, which is the cheapest car in the world with all convenient and quality features. India also exports nearly 12 per cent of manufactured cars to Europe, U.S. and elsewhere in the world. 

The automotive industry in India is one of the largest in the world and one of the fastest growing globally. According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, annual vehicle sales were projected to increase to 5 million by 2015 and more than 9 million by 2020. By 2050, the country is expected to top the world in car volumes with approximately 611 million vehicles on the nation’s roads. The majority of India’s car manufacturing industry is based around three clusters in the south, west and north. 

    The southern cluster near Chennai is the biggest with 40 per cent of the revenue share. The western hub near Pune is 33 per cent of the market. The northern cluster is primarily Haryana with 32 per cent. 

     Chennai is also referred to as the ‘Detroit of India’ with the Indian operations of Ford, Hyundai, Renault andNissan headquartered in the city and BMW having an assembly plant on the outskirts. Chennai accounts for 60 per cent of the country’s automotive exports. 

     Gurugram and Manesar in Haryana form the northern cluster where the country’s largest car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki is based. The Chakan corridor near Pune, Maharashtra is the western cluster with companies like General Motors, Volkswagen, ŠKODA, Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata Motors, Mercedes Benz, Land Rover, Fiat and Force Motors having assembly plants in the area. Aurangabad with Audi, ŠKODA and Volkswagen also forms part of the western cluster. Another emerging cluster is in the state of Gujarat with manufacturing facility of General Motors in Halol and further planned for Tata Nano at Sanand. Ford, Maruti Suzuki and Peugeot-Citroen plants are also set to come up in Gujarat. Kolkata with Hindustan Motors, Noida with Honda and Bengaluru with Toyota are some of the other automotive manufacturing regions around the country.

INVENTION OF AUTOMOBILE (POST WORLD WAR II )

A. Fill in the blanks

1. One very popular model from FORD was named mustang.

2. Big Three of car industry namely General Motors, Ford & Chrysler set about to design big fast moving cars for the American roads.

3. First cars imported in India were in 1920.

4. Ambassador and Fiat/ Padmini were the two dominant models of cars on the Indian roads till 1983.

. In 1983, Government of India started Maruti Udyog in collaboration with Suzuki of Japan.

6. First Cheapest Indian car name is TATA NANO.

B. Multiple choice questions

1. In which year was the first car imported in India?

(a) 1920                (b) 1942                (c) 1970                (d) None of the above

2. Which of these is the first car manufactured in India?

(a) Ambassador                (b) Fiat (c) Nano               (d) Padmini

3. Which city is referred to as the “Detroit of India”?

(a) Pune               (b) Gurugram    (c) Chennai         (d) Delhi

 4. In which year was the India company Premier Automobiles founded?

(a) 1940                (b) 1944                (c) 1960                (d) 1970

5. Hindustan motors founded in the year 1942 by_________?

                (a) GOI               (b)Padmini            (c) Tata                 (d) BM Birla

C. Answer the following

1. When were cars imported in India?

Ans:- In 1920’s

2.  List the various manufacturers of Indian Car ?

Ans: Hindustan motors

                Premier Automobiles,   Maruthi Suzuki , General motors , Ford ,               Hyundai, Mahindra, TATA, motors etc (write any company).

 

 

3. Write about development of Automobiles in India?

Ans:       -The first cars imported in India were in 1920’s.

                -In 1942 “Hindustan motors” 1^st car manufacturing company in India founded by BM Birla.

                -Most successful car from the company HM is “Ambassador” .

                -In 1944 another company premier Automobile lunched and successfully run.

                -In 1983 GOI started Maruthi udyog in collaboration with Suzuki of Japan

-After so many car companies are manufacturer their products and run successfully  like General Motors, Ford, Hyundai, TATA motors, Mahindra etc.

                -Tata motors build (manufacture) a cheapest car is called “TATA NANO”

The automotive industry in India is one of the largest in the world and one of the fastest growing globally. India's passenger car and commercial vehicle manufacturing industry is the sixth largest in the world, In 2009, India emerged as Asia's fourth largest exporter of passenger cars, after Japan, South Korea, and Thailand. In 2010, India became Asia's third largest exporter of passenger cars, after Japan and South Korea beating Thailand.

4. What are the Clusters of auto in India?

Ans: India's car manufacturing industry is based around three clusters in the south, west and north.

The southern cluster near Chennai is the biggest with 40% of the revenue share.

The western hub near Maharashtra is 33% of the market.

The northern cluster is primarily Haryana with 32%.

5. Why Chennai is called “Detroit of India”?

Ans: Chennai, is called "Detroit of India"  because Chennai operations of Ford, Hyundai, Renault and Nissan headquartered in the city and BMW having an assembly plant on the outskirts. Chennai accounts for 60% of the country's automotive exports.

D. Assessment

1. List the any ten models of car running in your area (any 10)

Sl No	Name of the manufacturer	Name of the model